Palin eyeing energy secretary in potential Trump administration

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WASHINGTON — Sarah Palin knows the position she wants in a Donald Trump administration: Energy secretary.

“I think a lot about the Department of Energy, because energy is my baby: oil and gas and minerals, those things that God has dumped on this part of the Earth for mankind’s use instead of us relying on unfriendly foreign nations,” she told CNN’s Jake Tapper in an interview that aired Sunday on “State of the Union.”

But Palin, the GOP’s 2008 vice presidential nominee, might be the first potential cabinet member to openly speak about dissolving their office.

“I’d get rid of (the Energy Department). And I’d let the states start having more control over the lands that are within their boundaries and the people who are affected by the developments within their states. If I were in charge of that, it would be a short-term job, but it would be … really great to have someone who knows energy and is pro-responsible development to be in charge.”

Palin and Trump, who has said he’d “love” for Palin to serve in his administration, have repeatedly praised each other in recent years, and last week, the billionaire businessman appeared on the cable show “On Point” when Palin was a fill-in anchor. On Sunday, Palin — who has complained in the past about being treated unfairly by the mainstream media — came to Trump’s defense after he says he was asked “gotcha questions” about terror leaders by conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt.

“I think I’d rather have a president who is tough and puts America first than can win a game of Trivial Pursuit. But I don’t think the public gives a flying flip if somebody knows who, today, is a specific leader of a specific region or a religion or anything,” she said. Palin added that it’s more important that candidates know information such as oil and energy production than “the leader of some tribe or a religion or even a country.”

Palin, who has criticized the recent Iran nuclear deal, also announced that she will appear at a rally in Washington protesting the agreement with Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz this week.

“We walked away from the draft of that treaty giving a win to Iran, our sworn enemy,” she told Tapper. “Iran, who immediately after the deal was struck, started mocking us and poking us and saying yes, of course we’re going to violate it. Thanks for freeing up $150 billion, America, too.”